Before we continue, I would like to state a few things, that if not practiced during the undertaking of this strategy, can prove to be detrimental, to you AND your team.

1. Even though you are focusing on combat, you still need to keep your team alive. You need a full Ubercharge to effectively pull off this strategy, and healing your team mates will be beneficial to both you and them, they get overhealed, meaning they are stronger, and you get Ubercharge, meaning you get stronger.

2. BY NO MEANS are you completely invincible, this playstyle is meant for aggressive, burst attacks, so stick with your team and support them with heals while you are without Ubercharge, and don't overextend, as you will lack the insurance that your cohorts offer in the form of meat shields.

3. This playstyle is at times, quite situational. Sometimes it may be more beneficial to your team to use your charge on other classes, who can kill enemies with more ease.

4. One of the things that makes this strategy effective is the Medic's extremely high critical hit chance, which allows him to kill most classes in a single shot. Which is exactly why I would advise AGAINST using this in competitive play, where random crits are disabled.

BONUS. As a Medic in a competitive match, pretty much every other class is actively trying to hunt you down, so trying to do this in matchmaking or any other competitive scenario is REALLY STUPID.

Now that we have cleared that up, we can move on to the most important part; the tools of the trade.

Now, we look to your armory. Don't forget, you are a knight! And as such, you much use weaponry appropriate to your title!

First, you need a primary weapon, befitting of your heritage and nobility! And what could be better than the highly medieval Crusader's Crossbow!
Basic info:
-75% primary ammo reserve on wearer
-Unlike the Sniper's Huntsman bow, the crossbow cannot inflict headshots, an ability unique only to the Sniper, and the Ambassador Spy

-Unlike the other syringe guns available, the crossbow:
A) Fires a single projectile, which deals an extremely larger amount of damage
B) Has a much less taxing arc, and it's projectiles move only slightly slower than those of the huntsman
C) Instead of damage fall off over distance, this weapon's damage RAMPS UP, meaning that the further away your enemy is, the more damage it deals. A good way to punish and deter distant snipers.

This is the primary of choice, as it allows you to soften up targets from a safe distance, so you can safely maneuver towards and finish them off with your blade. It also has the ability to heal teammates from a distance, which now, after the Tough Break Update, grants a bit of charge to your Uber meter. If you practice your aim, you can heal moving team mates, even scouts, at range.

There is a festive variant.

A good knight must know how to defend himself, by skillfully deflecting sometimes fatal blows with his trusty shield. As you are not a Demoknight, who does have a selection of "actual" shields (I mean, seriously, they're tiny!), you must improvise. And so, that is where your Medi Gun comes into the equation.
Yes, the stock medi gun, heals at a standard 24 points per second, 72 points when crit healing. Crit healing, is basically when you're healing a target, if they have recently taken damage, they will be healed at the slowest speed (24 points in this case), but the speed will gradually ramp up to 72 points over time, if they haven't taken damage in those 15 seconds.

But the healing isn't the most important aspect of this weapon, that honour goes to its ubercharge, 8 seconds of guaranteed damage invulnerability (except from environmental hazards, such as the train on cp_snowplow, or the saws on koth_sawmill or ctf_sawmill.

Using this, you can charge forward into your enemies, and when in range, swap to your blade to harass them, and swap back to your medi gun, to either escape, or protect yourself from their attacks, so you can follow up on your initial strike. This can be further enhanced by the melee of choice, which we will cover in the next section.

Keep in mind though, that you are still affected by forces such as airblast and explosive knockback, along with the rare forced laughter induced by Holiday Punch heavies.

There are Festive, Australium, and Botkiller variants, along with all the Gun Mettle/Tough Break Skins.

Ah, the final essential component, the bread and butter, if you will, of this loadout. Once again, unlike your ethnic Scottish colleague, you are not provided with the standard tools of the trade. But, this will not stop you, as your melee will make Tavish bow his head in shame, and make him wonder why he ever left the comfort of Ullapool. Reader, meet the Ubersaw.

This saw will function as your blade, as it possesses incredible synergy with your shield, further increasing your offensive capabilities, and allowing you to spearhead assaults on the enemy team, whether on offense or defense!

Now, the thing that makes this baby really special, is its 25% uber build on hit. But in order to grasp just how powerful this is, I'll give you the recipe for success....

There is a Festive variant.

This section is completely up to you to fulfil, you don't have to actually wear anything, although we all know that hats = skill.

This is the most knight-ish look I could find. Just look how medieval it is! EDIT: It ain't ArraySeven anymore, pretty sure he uses the Colonel's Coat instead of the Metalmeatencasen now.

Berliner's Bucket Helm

(It's not ArraySeven without the Bonzo The All Gnawing Unusual effect)

Practitioner's Processing Mask


Das Metalmeatencasen


Of course, if you don't have the money for those, you can always wear the Spiral Sallet, which is free! You can obtain it as an achievement item for playing Spiral Knights, which once again, doesn't cost a cent.

To begin with you should have at least 75% uber in the tank, which you will obtain by healing your team. The first attack on your target will fill up your charge, and set you up for this "sword & shield" playstyle you will be undertaking.

Before you start swinging your blade in the name of all that is good and holy, you need to make sure the circumstances are in your favour...

Be Mobile: Don't stand still, or move in straight lines. Use the A and D keys to shuflle about, try to make your movement unpredictable. This will help to throw off projectile classes such as Soldier, Demoman, Huntsman Snipers and Sandman+Guillotine Scouts.

Height Advantage: Look for ways to "rise above the competition", having a height advantage can help to make your movement even more unpredictable, and opens up many new ambush opportunities. Besides, nobody ever looks up. Look for alcoves, balconies, rooftops and stairways that give you the option of jumping down and surprising the opposition. Don't underestimate the utility of crouch jumping, as it allows you to reach locations people won't expect an attack from.

Ambush: Don't give your opponents time to prepare for your onslaught, use walls, small cover, even foliage, as staging ground to surprise the enemy. A surprise attack can put your target in a state of panic, throwing off their aim, and making them all the more easy to take down.

Pick Your Battles: You shouldn't charge straight towards all 12 members of the enemy team, as hitscan classes can easily take you out while you are swinging your blade, try to take out lone, already crippled enemies, who can be taken out with little to no effort.

Know The Map: Make sure you know the locations of health packs, ammo, the placement of both teams sentry nests (If any) and the whereabouts of fellow Medics and teammates.


Once you've positioned yourself, there is a basic pattern that your attack will follow. This of course will vary, in time between swings, when you switch back you your shield, and when to get the hell out.


1. Activate Charge: You'll need your ubercharge to tank damage you would usually be taking from the enemy. Activate as soon as A) A Soldier or Demoman shoots a projectile at you (Activate BEFORE it hits), B) After landing your first swing, or C) upon taking damage.

Handy Tip: Use the switch to previous weapon key ('Q' by default) to quickly switch between secondary & melee weapons.

2. Throw Off Their Aim: With your Medi Gun out, try to throw off their aim by:
- Gaining height advantage, like I mentioned earlier
- Crouch jumping makes your hitbox smaller, therefore making you harder to land hits on
- Using erratic movement, maneuvering randomly will make your swing more unpredictable

3. Pull Out The Saw: For a brief moment, you will have to sacrifice a portion of your invulnerability to deal a bit of damage to your enemy. That is why the Ubersaw is the melee of choice, as it improves your survivability with every swing if you end up in a prolonged encounter. Try to land a hit or two, but try not to waste your Ubercharge. Also, don't right click while you have the Ubersaw equipped, as is activates the taunt kill, which leaves you vulnerable, and it's very unlikely that the taunt will actually kill. Keep an eye on your Ubercharge meter!

4. Switch Back To Your Medi Gun: You'll need to switch back to your Medi Gun eventually, if the need to either tank damage, or run for the hills, arises. You should do this at around 50%, or after you've successfully landed a swing or two.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the enemy has been slain.

Once you're done, if there's another enemy approaching, and you still have over 50% uber, you should be able to connect the two encounters.

Well, we've come to the end of the guide, hope you guys enjoyed, and use what you learned to piss off astound the opposition!

Test it out, and share your findings in the comment section! I'd like to know whether there are any issues with it that need fixing/improving!

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